Xergi to build large biogas plant in France

A long-term marketing strategy and a strong technological development of Xergi's biogas concept have ensured the continued growth of the company's position in the international biogas industry.

The biogas company Xergi A/S has just landed a new order to build France's largest biogas plant to date based on waste products from agriculture and the food industry.

The plant – which is Xergi's fitfh order in France in three years – is being supplied to the biogas company Méthalandes in the town of Hagetmau, south of Bordeaux in south-western France.

Behind the plant are the shareholders Eneria Ren and the state-owned bank Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations. Eneria Ren is owned by the company Groupe Monnoyeur, which, among other things, is a leading European retailer and wholesaler of industrial engines and construction machinery from the American firm Caterpillar.

"The new order shows that, as a result of a strong technological development and a long-term marketing strategy, we are continuing to strengthen our position in the international biogas industry. In this context, the fact that our technology is being given the stamp of approval by significant players like the leading French state-owned bank and Eneria Ren is an important step forward," states CEO Jørgen Ballermann from Xergi.

He points out that Xergi has developed a technology that makes it possible to achieve a high level of gas production with many different types of animal manure, organic waste and other types of feedstock at the same time.

"It has been very well received in countries such as France, the U.K. and the USA, because our technology provides customers with peace of mind that the necessary amounts and qualities of biomass will be added in the long term," explains Ballermann.

In addition to the energy produced, the plants provide a valuable output of nutrients, which can be used as fertilizer for farms in the biogas plant's local area.

Once up and running, the biogas plant in Hagetmau will treat a total of 153,000 tons of biomass annually. The biogas obtained will be used to produce 37.8 million kWh of electricity, or the equivalent of 9,000 households' combined electricity consumption. Construction will start during the first quarter of 2014, and the plant will be put into operation in 2015.